Not many tourists visit Paisley. On the two trips I’ve made, I didn’t see any other obvious tourists, or any kids with killer backpacks. Nobody was carrying a camera, and I felt quite self-conscious taking photos (though I usually feel this way until I really get going). But I had confirmation that I wasn’t being just paranoid, when I was snapping photos of the town Cross, and a police woman suddenly said, "Excuse me," in my direction. I had a moment of panic, when I thought perhaps pictures weren’t allowed, but then she just went on and said that she’d seen me snapping away and wanted to make sure that I knew that Paisley Abbey was just behind the Town Hall, and she pointed. I told her I’d actually already visited it, but thanked her anyway. She seemed happy enough to have a visitor, so that was pretty nice, even if it did just about give me a heart attack.
But the fact that not many people go there is evident in the fact that the attractions are not particularly coordinated in their opening times. I have listed them below in list form so you can see them more clearly (with the ‘most open’ at the top).
These are the reasonably open things…
Paisley Abbey: Mon-Sat 10am-5:30pm
Paisley Museum & Art Galleries: Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 2-5pm
Coats Observatory: Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 2-5pm
These are the not so open things…
Thomas Coats Memorial Church: April-October Mon, Wed, Fri 2-4pm
Sma’ Shot Cottages: April-September Wed, Sat 12-4pm
Oakshaw Trinity Church: by arrangement only (call +44 (0)141 889 4010)
It looks like Wednesdays are the obvious winner here, because that’s the only day of the week that both the Sma’ Shot Cottages and the Coats Memorial Church are open. Clearly, if you want to see more than the Abbey, you need to make sure that you go on a day when the things you want to see are open.